Protocol test device and method for operating a protocol test device

ABSTRACT

A protocol test device for testing protocol compliance of a wireless device under test comprises a wireless interface for transmitting an outgoing RF signal to the wireless device under test and/or for receiving an incoming RF signal from the wireless device under test, a processing unit for generating messages for the outgoing RF signal based on a predefined protocol and for processing messages in the incoming RF signal based on the predefined protocol, a message log memory for storing the generated messages and the received messages, and a summary message generation unit that generates a summary log message and stores the summary log message in the message log memory, wherein the summary log message comprises information about at least one of the generated messages and/or the received messages and repetitions of the respective generated message and/or the respective received message.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a protocol test device. The presentinvention further relates to a method for operating a protocol testdevice.

BACKGROUND

Although applicable in principal to any system that measures data, thepresent invention and its underlying problem will be hereinafterdescribed in combination with protocol testers for wireless devices.

Modern wireless devices may comprise a plurality of high frequencyelements and handle data and analogue signals at frequencies of up toseveral GHz.

In order to verify compliance of such wireless devices with legalregulations and standards, extensive testing of these wireless devicesis necessary during development, production, and in the field.

Specific tests have to be performed to verify the compliance of thewireless devices with the protocol standards of the respectivecommunication standard. This ensures that the wireless device integratesinto the respective wireless ecosystem and doesn't interfere with thedata communication of the further devices in the respective wirelesssystem.

Testing the protocol compliance of wireless devices requires logging themessages that are exchanged by the wireless devices.

Against this background, the problem addressed by the present inventionis providing an improved log data handling.

SUMMARY

The present invention solves this object by a protocol test device withthe features of claim 1, and by a method with the features of claim 11.

Accordingly it is provided:

-   -   A protocol test device for testing protocol compliance of a        wireless device under test, the protocol test device comprising        a wireless interface for transmitting an outgoing RF signal to        the wireless device under test and/or for receiving an incoming        RF signal from the wireless device under test, a processing unit        for generating messages for the outgoing RF signal based on a        predefined protocol and for processing messages in the incoming        RF signal based on the predefined protocol, a message log memory        for storing the generated messages and the received messages,        and a summary message generation unit that generates a summary        log message and stores the summary log message in the message        log memory, wherein the summary log message comprises        information about at least one of the generated messages and/or        the received messages, and repetitions of the respective        generated message and/or the respective received message.

Further it is provided:

-   -   A method for operating a protocol test device for testing        protocol compliance of a wireless device under test, the method        comprising transmitting an outgoing RF signal to the wireless        device under test, receiving an incoming RF signal from the        wireless device under test, generating messages for the outgoing        RF signal based on a predefined protocol, processing messages in        the incoming RF signal based on the predefined protocol, storing        the generated messages and the received messages, and generating        and storing, e.g. in the massage log, a summary log message,        wherein the summary log message comprises information about at        least one of the generated messages and/or the received        messages, and repetitions of the respective generated message        and/or the respective received message.

When testing the protocol compliance of a wireless device with apredetermined communication standard or protocol, the protocol testdevice may e.g. simulate a communication partner of the respectivewireless device under test and provide the wireless device under testwith an outgoing RF signal that contains messages according to thepredetermined communication standard or protocol. As a response thedevice under test will provide the protocol test device with an incomingRF signal that comprises messages generated by the device under test.

The predetermined communication standard or protocol will at least insome situations, like e.g. connection establishment, require a fixedsequence of messages with a predetermined content to be exchangedbetween the protocol test device and the device under test.

In addition, certain messages may be repeated in various frames. Framesin this context may e.g. refer to data frames as a unit of datatransmission in the wireless communication according to thepredetermined communication standard or protocol. A frame may thereforecomprise at least one message.

If a specific message is repeated a certain number of times it becomesinefficient to handle the single repetitions in the log of messagesseparately either in an automated log analyzer or for a human, e.g. atest engineer.

Therefore, the protocol test device comprises a summary messagegeneration unit that will summarize the repetitions of single messagesduring the communication and store respective summary log messages inthe message log memory. It is understood, that the summary log messagesmay also comprise additional information, like e.g. the message type orthe like.

A possible protocol that uses such repeated messages may e.g. be the3GPP LTE Release 13 protocol.

With the summary log message the analysis following the recording of thelog, i.e. the transmitted and received messages, is greatly simplified,since it is not necessary to parse the entire message log memory forrepetitions of single messages. Instead the information about repeatedmessages may simply be extracted from the summary log message.

Further embodiments of the present invention are subject of the furthersubclaims and of the following description, referring to the drawings.

In a possible embodiment, the summary message generation unit maycomprise a message buffer for storing the information aboutpredetermined types of messages and their repetitions.

The message buffer may e.g. be a two dimensional array, where each rowrefers to a single message type. The columns may then refer to thesingle repetitions of the messages. This allows efficiently handling thesingle messages.

The maximum number of repetitions may e.g. be predetermined by therespective communication standard. The size of the message buffer or thetwo dimensional array, respectively, may therefore be adaptedaccordingly.

In a possible embodiment, the information that the summary messagegeneration unit includes in the summary log message about at least oneof the generated messages and/or the received messages and theirrepetitions may comprise frame numbers and/or sub-frame numbers of therespective message and its repetitions.

As indicated above frames or data frames may be seen as a unit of datatransmission. Sub-frames may be a subdivision of such data frames, e.g.time slots of a predefined length in a single frame.

Usually the length of a frame will be predetermined by the respectivecommunication standard. Knowing the frame number or sub-frame number ofthe frames or sub-frames that carried a message therefore allowsanalyzing and reconstructing the timing of the single messages.

In a possible embodiment, the information that the summary messagegeneration unit includes in the summary log message about at least oneof the generated messages and/or the received messages and theirrepetitions may comprise the number of repetitions of the respectivemessage.

The number of repetitions for specific message types may be predefinedby a communication standard or by configuration options of thecommunication standard. For example in the 3GPP LTE Release 13 Standardcertain message types may be repeated between 1 and 2048 times.

The summary message generation unit may e.g. comprise counters forcounting the numbers of repetitions of the respective messages.

Knowing the number of repetitions allows easily comparing the actualnumber of times a message was repeated to the predefined number of timesthat the message should be repeated. Non-conforming data transmissionsof the device under test may therefore easily be detected.

In a possible embodiment, the information that the summary messagegeneration unit includes in the summary log message about at least oneof the generated messages and/or the received messages and theirrepetitions may comprise pointers to the first occurrence and/or therepetitions of the respective message in the message log memory.

Pointers, also called links or indicators, to the original message inthe message log memory allow easily retrieving the full message or itscontent starting from the summary log message. If for example anyirregularities are detected in the summary log message the full messagesmay then be retrieved and analyzed in detail.

In a possible embodiment, the protocol test device may comprise adisplay device that displays the content of the message log memory andcomprises a user interface for navigating the message log memory.

The display device may e.g. be a screen or a touchscreen of the protocoltest device and display the message log e.g. in tabular form to a user.The user may use the user interface for navigating the content of themessage log memory, i.e. the message log.

The user interface allows a user to comfortably parse the contents ofthe message log memory.

In a possible embodiment, the protocol test device may comprise aprotocol analyzer that analyzes the summary log message and addsrespective conformity markers to the summary log message.

The conformity markers may indicate whether the respective message andits repetitions conform to the respective communication standard or not.The protocol analyzer may e.g. analyze the contents of the summary logmessage to identify the distance between single message repetitions andverify it the identified distance conforms to the respectivecommunication standard. Distance in this context may refer to thedistance measured in frames, i.e. the number of the frame with thesecond message repetition minus the number of the frame with the firstmessage repetition.

The conformity markers allow quickly scanning for irregularities in thecommunication with the device under test without having to parse thefull content of the message log memory.

In a possible embodiment, the protocol analyzer may be coupled to theprocessing unit and may receive from the processing unit configurationparameters for the communication with the device under test, wherein theprotocol analyzer may analyze the summary log message according to thereceived parameters.

The configuration parameters may e.g. refer to specific message typesthat should be repeated during the communication with the device undertest and may further specify the number of repetitions and the spacingbetween repetitions, e.g. as number of frames. With this information theprotocol analyzer may be configured by the processing unit automaticallywithout e.g. a user having to provide this information to the protocolanalyzer manually.

In a possible embodiment, the conformity markers may comprise a binaryflag and/or the conformity markers may comprise visual indications.

The digital binary flag may e.g. be a single bit in the message logmemory or the summary log message. Such flags may be easily evaluatede.g. by following signal processing units in the protocol test device.

The visual indications in contrast allow a user to quickly identifynon-conforming messages or communication sequences.

In a possible embodiment, the summary message generation unit maycomprise at least one interface to respective layers of a communicationstack implemented in the processing unit, the interfaces allowing thesummary message generation unit to intercept the generated messagesand/or the received messages.

The processing unit may e.g. comprise at least part of the layers of acommunication stack. The communication stack may e.g. be a communicationstack according to the OSI layer model or at least be loosely based onthe OSI layer model.

The interfaces may provide the summary message generation unit withaccess to the data that is exchanged between the layers and therefore tothe received or incoming messages and the generated or outgoingmessages. Using the interfaces allows using an already presentcommunication stack with minimal changes to the stack and does notrequire a full rewrite of the communication stack.

The protocol test device may comprise a combination of hardwarecomponents, like e.g. general purpose processors, programmable logicdevices, like e.g. FPGAs, microcontrollers and analogue circuitry or thelike, and computer readable instructions, like e.g. an operating systemwith respective applications, firmware, hardware description or thelike. The wireless interface may comprise digital and analoguecomponents that are required to convert a digital data stream intoanalogue signals that may be transmitted via an antenna and to convertreceived analogue signals into a digital data stream. Such componentsmay e.g. comprise filters, amplifiers, attenuators or the like. Theprocessing unit may be any kind of processor or processing device thatmay handle the respective tasks. The processing unit may also comprisecomputer readable instructions, e.g. in the form of an applicationprogram that is executed by a processing unit. The summary messagegeneration unit may also comprise a combination of digital and analoguecomponents that are necessary to perform the function of the summarymessage generation unit. The summary message generation unit may e.g.comprise interfaces to respective layers of the communication stack thatis implemented in the protocol test device. The interfaces would allowthe summary message generation unit to intercept the incoming andoutgoing messages and populate the message log memory.

The message log memory may be any type of memory, like e.g. a RAMmemory, a hard disk, a mobile storage like a USB stick. The message logmemory may also be e.g. a file in a file system on a hardware memory, ora database or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention andadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention isexplained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments which arespecified in the schematic figures of the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a protocol test deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a protocol testdevice according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a protocol testdevice according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method according tothe present invention.

The appended drawings are intended to provide further understanding ofthe embodiments of the invention. They illustrate embodiments and, inconjunction with the description, help to explain principles andconcepts of the invention. Other embodiments and many of the advantagesmentioned become apparent in view of the drawings. The elements in thedrawings are not necessarily shown to scale.

In the drawings, like, functionally equivalent and identically operatingelements, features and components are provided with like reference signsin each case, unless stated other-wise.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a protocol test device 100. The protocoltest device 100 serves for testing protocol compliance of a wirelessdevice under test 101, e.g. an IoT device or a mobile phone or the like.

The protocol test device 100 comprises a wireless interface 102 that iscoupled to a processing unit 105. The protocol test device 100 furthercomprises a message log memory 108 that is coupled to the processingunit 105, and a summary message generation unit 110 that is coupled tothe processing unit 105 and the message log memory 108.

The wireless interface 102 sends an outgoing RF signal 103 and receivesan incoming RF signal 104. The outgoing RF signal 103 may e.g. compriseoutgoing messages 106 and the incoming RF signal 104 may compriseincoming messages 107.

The outgoing messages 106 are generated by the processing unit 105 ofthe protocol test device 100 and the incoming messages 107 are processedby the protocol test device 100.

Although shown as separate units, the processing unit 105 and thewireless interface 102 may at least partially be a single component. Theprocessing unit 105 may e.g. comprise the digital logic that isnecessary to encode the outgoing messages 106 or decode the incomingmessages 107. The wireless interface 102 may comprise the D/A convertersand analogue circuitry that is necessary to convert the digital signalsfrom the processing unit 105 into the outgoing RF signal 103. Thewireless interface 102 may also comprise A/D converters and the analoguecircuitry that is necessary to convert the incoming RF signal 104 into adigital signal for processing by the processing unit 105.

The processing unit 105 further provides the outgoing messages 106 andincoming messages 107 to the message log memory 108 that stores amessage log 109. The message log 109 comprises the outgoing messages 106and incoming messages 107 that have been sent during the test of thewireless device under test 101.

The summary message generation unit 110 also receives the outgoingmessages 106 and incoming messages 107 from the processing unit 105.Alternatively, the summary message generation unit 110 may also retrievethe outgoing messages 106 and incoming messages 107 from the message logmemory 108. The summary message generation unit 110 analyzes theoutgoing messages 106 and incoming messages 107 and generates a summarylog message 111. The summary log message 111 contains information 112about the outgoing messages 106 and the incoming messages 107, andespecially about repetitions 113 of the outgoing messages 106 orincoming messages 107. In FIG. 1 the repetition 113 of message 106 isjust schematically shown as a placeholder for a plurality of possiblerepetitions.

The information 112 that the summary message generation unit 110includes in the summary log message 111 refers to at least one of thegenerated messages 106 or one of the received messages 107 and therespective repetitions 113. The information 112 may e.g. comprise framenumbers and/or sub-frame numbers of the respective message 106, 107 andits repetitions 113. The information 112 may also comprise the number ofrepetitions 113 of the respective message 106, 107. In addition theinformation 112 may also comprise pointers to the first occurrenceand/or the repetitions 113 of the respective message 106, 107 in themessage log memory 108.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of another protocol test device 200. Theprotocol test device 200 is based on the protocol test device 100 andtherefore comprises a wireless interface 202 that is connected to theprocessing unit 205, and a message log memory 208 together with thesummary message generation unit 210.

The summary message generation unit 210 comprises a message buffer 214that allows the summary message generation unit 210 to buffer the singleoutgoing messages 206 and incoming messages 207 for faster processing.

The protocol test device 200 further comprises a display device 215. Thedisplay device 215 of the protocol test device 200 is a touchscreen andat the same time serves as user interface 216. It is understood thatinstead of a touchscreen 215, 216 any other separate display and userinterface arrangement is also possible.

The display device 215 serves for displaying the message log 209 fromthe message log memory 208 to a user. The user interface 216 allows theuser to navigate the message log 209 and e.g. select single messages106, 107 for displaying the details of the respective message 106,107.The message log 209 may e.g. be displayed in tabular form and show atype and a frame number of a respective message 106, 107. If a userselects a line of the table the line may e.g. be expanded and show moredetails of the respective message 106, 107.

The display device 215 may also show the summary log message 211 withthe information 212. In FIG. 2 the summary log message 211 is shownseparated from the messages 106, 107, however, any other arrangementwould also be possible.

In addition, instead of a single summary log message 211 for all messagetypes, a single summary log message 211 may be provided for everymessage type that is processed in the summary log message 211.

The protocol test device 200 further comprises a protocol analyzer 217.The protocol analyzer 217 analyzes at least one of the outgoing messages206, the incoming messages 207 and the summary log message 211 in themessage log memory 208 and determines if they conform to a protocol thatis used for data transmission with the wireless device under test 201.In order to analyze the outgoing messages 206, the incoming messages 207and the summary log message 211, the protocol analyzer 217 receives theconfiguration parameters 223 of the communication with the wirelessdevice under test 201 from the processing unit 205. The configurationparameters 223 may e.g. determine which type of message is repeatedduring the communication and in which frames.

After analyzing the outgoing messages 206, incoming messages 207 and thesummary log message 211 the protocol analyzer 217 provides a conformitymarker 218-222 for every message. The conformity marker 218-222indicates if the respective message 206, 207, 211 conforms to theconfiguration parameters 223, and may e.g. be a binary flag or a coloredindicator that may be shown to the user.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of another protocol test device 300. Theprotocol test device 300 is based on the protocol test device 100 andtherefore comprises a wireless interface 302 that is connected to theprocessing unit 305, and a message log memory 308 together with thesummary message generation unit 310.

In the protocol test device 300 the processing unit 305 comprises aprotocol or communication stack 329. The communication stack 329 is justexemplarily shown as comprising three layers 330, 331, 332. It isunderstood that the layers 330, 331, 332 are just schematically andexemplarily shown. The communication stack 329 may e.g. be anycommunication stack 329, especially a communication stack 329 conformingto or at least loosely based on the OSI layer model.

An interface 328 is provided at the processing unit 305 that allows thesummary message generation unit 310 to directly access the differentlayers 330, 331, 332 and e.g. extract the outgoing messages 306 andincoming messages 307.

It is understood, that the protocol test device 100, the protocol testdevice 200 and the protocol test device 300 are just exemplary devicesand that their features may be freely combined.

For example the interface 328 may be used with the protocol test device200, the display device 215 and the user interface 216 may be used withthe protocol test device 100 or the protocol test device 300. The sameapplies to the protocol analyzer 217.

For sake of clarity in the following description of the method basedFIG. 4 the reference signs used above in the description of apparatusbased FIGS. 1-3 will be maintained.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method for operating a protocol testdevice 100, 200, 300 for testing protocol compliance of a wirelessdevice under test 101, 201, 301.

The method comprises transmitting S1 an outgoing RF signal 103, 203, 303to the wireless device under test 101, 201, 301, and receiving S2 anincoming RF signal 104, 204, 304 from the wireless device under test101, 201, 301.

Messages 106, 206, 306 are generated S3 for the outgoing RF signal 103,203, 303 based on a predefined protocol, and messages 107, 207, 307 inthe incoming RF signal 104, 204, 304 are processed S4 based on thepredefined protocol.

The method further comprises storing S5 the generated messages 106, 206,306 and the received messages 107, 207, 307 in a message log 109, 209,309.

Finally a summary log message 111, 211, 311 is generated and stored S6,wherein the summary log message 111, 211, 311 comprises information 112,212, 312 about at least one of the generated messages 106, 206, 306and/or the received messages 107, 207, 307 and repetitions 113, 313 ofthe respective generated message 106, 206, 306 and/or the respectivereceived message 107, 207, 307.

Generating the summary log message 111, 211, 311 may comprise storingthe information 112, 212, 312 about predetermined types of messages 106,107, 206, 207, 306, 307 and their repetitions 113, 313 in a temporarybuffer prior to storing the summary log message 111, 211, 311. Further,generating the summary log message 111, 211, 311 may compriseintercepting the generated messages 106, 206, 306 and/or the receivedmessages 107, 207, 307 from layers 330, 331, 332 of a communicationstack 329 implemented in the protocol test device 100, 200, 300.

The information 112, 212, 312 included in the summary log message 111,211, 311 about at least one of the generated messages 106, 206, 306and/or the received messages 107, 207, 307 and their repetitions 113,313 may e.g. comprise at least one of frame numbers and/or sub-framenumbers of the respective message 106, 107, 206, 207, 306, 307 and itsrepetitions 113, 313, the number of repetitions 113, 313 of therespective message 106, 107, 206, 207, 306, 307, and pointers to thefirst occurrence and/or the repetitions 113, 313 of the respectivemessage 106, 107, 206, 207, 306, 307 in the message log 109, 209, 309.

To facilitate the evaluation of the message log 109, 209, 309 the methodmay further comprise analyzing the summary log message 111, 211, 311 andadding respective conformity markers 218-222 to the summary log message111, 211, 311.

Analyzing the summary log message 111, 211, 311 may e.g. be performedaccording to configuration parameters 223 for the communication with thewireless device under test 101, 201, 301. The conformity markers 218-222may comprise a binary flag that is easily machine readable. In additionor as alternative the conformity markers 218-222 may comprise visualindications.

The method may further comprise displaying the content of the messagelog 109, 209, 309 and receiving a user input for navigating the messagelog 109, 209, 309.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations exist. Itshould be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplaryembodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope,applicability, or configuration in any way. Rather, the foregoingsummary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the artwith a convenient road map for implementing at least one exemplaryembodiment, it being understood that various changes may be made in thefunction and arrangement of elements described in an exemplaryembodiment without departing from the scope as set forth in the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents. Generally, this application isintended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specificembodiments discussed herein.

In the foregoing detailed description, various features are groupedtogether in one or more examples or examples for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. It is understood that the above descriptionis intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. It is intended tocover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be includedwithin the scope of the invention. Many other examples will be apparentto one skilled in the art upon reviewing the above specification.

Specific nomenclature used in the foregoing specification is used toprovide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art in light of the specificationprovided herein that the specific details are not required in order topractice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specificembodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes ofillustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive orto limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed; obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in view of the aboveteachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to bestexplain the principles of the invention and its practical applications,to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize theinvention and various embodiments with various modifications as aresuited to the particular use contemplated. Throughout the specification,the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-Englishequivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein,”respectively. Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc.,are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numericalrequirements on or to establish a certain ranking of importance of theirobjects.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   100, 200, 300 protocol test device-   101, 201, 301 wireless device under test-   102, 202, 302 wireless interface-   103, 203, 303 outgoing RF signal-   104, 204, 304 incoming RF signal-   105, 205, 305 processing unit-   106, 107, 206, 207, 306, 307 message-   108, 208, 308 message log memory-   109, 209, 309 message log-   110, 210, 310 summary message generation unit-   111, 211, 311 summary log message-   112, 212, 312 information-   113, 313 repetition-   214 message buffer-   215 display device-   216 user interface-   217 protocol analyzer-   218-222 conformity markers-   223 configuration parameters-   328 interface-   329 communication stack-   330, 331, 332 layer-   S1-S6 method steps

The invention claimed is:
 1. A protocol test device for testing protocolcompliance of a wireless device under test, the protocol test devicecomprising: a RF interface for transmitting an outgoing RF signal to thewireless device under test or for receiving an incoming RF signal fromthe wireless device under test, a processing unit for generatingmessages for the outgoing RF signal based on a predefined protocol andfor processing messages in the incoming RF signal based on thepredefined protocol, a message log memory for storing the generatedmessages and the received messages, a summary message generation unitthat generates a summary log message and stores the summary log messagein the message log memory, wherein the summary log message comprisesinformation about the generated messages and repetitions of therespective generated message, or information about the received messagesand repetitions of the respective received message, wherein theinformation that the summary message generation unit includes in thesummary log message about the generated messages and the repetitions ofthe respective generated messages, or the received messages and therepetitions of the respective received messages, comprises the number ofrepetitions of the respective message, wherein the number of repetitionsis predefined by a communication standard, and a protocol analyzer thatanalyzes the summary log message that detects non-conforming datatransmissions without parsing the entire message log memory forrepetitions of single messages.
 2. The protocol test device according toclaim 1, wherein the summary message generation unit comprises a messagebuffer for storing the information about predetermined types of messagesand the repetitions of the messages.
 3. The protocol test deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the information that the summary messagegeneration unit includes in the summary log message about the generatedmessages and the repetitions of the respective generated messages, orthe received messages and the repetitions of the respective receivedmessages comprises frame numbers or sub-frame numbers of the respectivemessage and its repetitions.
 4. The protocol test device according toclaim 1, wherein the information that the summary message generationunit includes in the summary log message about the generated messagesand the repetitions of the respective generated messages, or thereceived messages and the repetitions of the respective receivedmessages comprises pointers to the first occurrence or the repetitionsof the respective message in the message log memory.
 5. The protocoltest device according to claim 1, comprising a display device thatdisplays content of the message log memory and comprises a userinterface for navigating the message log memory.
 6. The protocol testdevice according to claim 1, wherein the protocol analyzer addsrespective conformity markers to the summary log message.
 7. Theprotocol test device according to claim 6, wherein the protocol analyzeris coupled to the processing unit and receives from the processing unitconfiguration parameters for the communication with the wireless deviceunder test, wherein the protocol analyzer analyzes the summary logmessage according to the received parameters.
 8. The protocol testdevice according to claim 6, wherein the conformity markers comprise abinary flag or wherein the conformity markers comprise visualindications.
 9. The protocol test device according to claim 1, whereinthe summary message generation unit comprises at least one interface torespective layers of a communication stack implemented in the processingunit, the interfaces allowing the summary message generation unit tointercept the generated messages or the received messages.
 10. A methodfor operating a protocol test device for testing protocol compliance ofa wireless device under test, this method comprising: transmitting anoutgoing RF signal to the wireless device under test, receiving anincoming RF signal from the wireless device under test, generatingmessages for the outgoing RF signal based on a predefined protocol,processing messages in the incoming RF signal based on the predefinedprotocol, storing the generated messages and the received messages in amessage log, generating and storing a summary log message, wherein thesummary log message comprises information about the generated messagesand repetitions of the respective generated message, or informationabout the received messages and repetitions of the respective receivedmessage, wherein the information included in the summary log messageabout the generated messages and the repetitions of the respectivegenerated messages, or the received messages and the repetitions of therespective received messages, comprises the number of repetitions of therespective message, wherein the number of repetitions is predefined by acommunication standard, and detecting non-conforming data transmissionswithout parsing the entire message log for repetitions of singlemessages.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein generatingcomprises storing the information about predetermined types of messagesand the repetitions of the messages in a temporary buffer prior tostoring the summary log message.
 12. The method according to claim 10,wherein the information included in the summary log message about thegenerated messages and the repetitions of the respective generatedmessages, or the received messages and the repetitions of the respectivereceived messages comprises frame numbers or sub-frame numbers of therespective message and its repetitions.
 13. The method according toclaim 10, wherein the information included in the summary log messageabout the generated messages and the repetitions of the respectivegenerated messages, or the received messages and the repetitions of therespective received messages comprises pointers to the first occurrenceor the repetitions of the respective message in the message log.
 14. Themethod according to claim 10, comprising displaying content of themessage log and receiving a user input for navigating the message log.15. The method according to claim 10, comprising adding respectiveconformity markers to the summary log message.
 16. The method accordingto claim 15, wherein analyzing comprises receiving configurationparameters for the communication with the wireless device under test,and analyzing the summary log message according to the receivedparameters.
 17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the conformitymarkers comprise a binary flag or wherein the conformity markerscomprise visual indications.
 18. The method according to claim 10,wherein generating the summary log message comprises intercepting thegenerated messages or the received messages from layers of acommunication stack implemented in the protocol test device.